A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 464 Ambush
On a high cliff within the inner city of the city, Gao Jianli, Xue Nu, and Master Ban were watching the Black Armor Army attacking below.

"It's easy to get in but hard to get out. This time, the old man is going to make Gongshu Chou suffer a great loss."

Master Ban stroked his beard and chuckled, nodding to Gao Jianli and the other man. He then waved to one of his disciples, and signals were immediately transmitted downwards. Soon, from the dense forest, machine guns emerged from the treetops, laden with arrows that gleamed coldly and exuded a chilling aura. The advancing Black Armor Army suddenly halted, stopping just outside the safety line.

"Hmm, they've laid all these arrows out in the open while secretly setting up a killing formation. When did the Mohists learn the tricks of the military strategists? If the founder of the Mohists were to be resurrected, I wonder if he would be so angry that he would die."

Gongshu Chou stroked his beard, looked at the arrows on the treetops, sneered, and waved his hand. The black-armored army then formed a shield formation, three men per team, advancing in a triangular shape. In a short while, they disarmed the arrows. Gongshu Chou, Liu Sha, and the others stood on the mechanical snake and came to the depths of the dense forest. Using the snake's high body, they looked ahead, but the dense forest blocked out the sun. Although the mechanical snake was about two zhang long, standing on its head, they could only see a hazy white mist.

"The Mohists are skilled in using water. This white mist gathers the moisture from the mountains and forests and the water vapor from the streams. It never dissipates and becomes more concentrated the more it is stirred by external forces. Moreover, it is full of miasma. If one is not careful, one will be destroyed. Compared with it, the mist array of Mirror Lake Medical Manor is nothing."

The black-armored army advanced slowly and methodically. Gongshu Chou pointed to the white mist ahead and began to explain to Wei Zhuang. Upon hearing this, Wei Zhuang remained noncommittal and said calmly, "It seems that Lord Gongshu has a way to allow us to safely pass through this white mist."

Chi Lian smiled knowingly upon hearing this. When it came to masters of poison in the martial arts world, she considered herself second to none. Although the miasma was quite lethal, she didn't take it seriously. However, she was determined to make Gongshu Chou suffer a great loss this time, and she had no interest in being a good person for nothing.

"That's natural. Although we can't find the source of the miasma, we can suppress it temporarily. Although it can only last for half an hour, it should be enough for us pioneers."

Gongshu Chou smiled smugly and clapped his hands. One by one, the disciples of the Gongshu family quickly assembled the mechanical parts. In a short while, dozens of windmills stood outside the miasma. As the mechanism was activated, wisps of wind swept through, attracting the miasma from the opposite side. The dozens of windmills operated together, and the wind swirled, causing the pervasive miasma to thin out. In no time, the miasma in the targeted area was broken open, revealing a passage. What came into view was an outer wall made of hardwood, with figures moving on it.

"The progress is going quite smoothly. This master plan of the mechanism has really helped me a lot. Lord Wei Zhuang, the outer high wall of the mechanism city is just ahead. As long as we break through here, we can go straight to the heart of the matter and easily take the center of the ink core."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhuang chuckled. The Mohists were indeed quite skilled. It is often said that each of the Hundred Schools of Thought had its own strengths, but the Mohists' Mechanical City was a fusion of the essences of many schools. The illusionary formations were reminiscent of Taoism and Yin-Yang philosophy. Gongshu Chou, unaware of this, was bound to suffer a great loss.

"The overall diagram of the mechanism can only be used as a reference and cannot be completely trusted. Lord Gongshu should not rely too much on external objects. The Mohists are skilled in the art of change. Since they already know that the diagram of the mechanism has been stolen, they will not be without precautions."

Wei Zhuang offered a reminder, but Gongshu Chou didn't listen. He was focused on the diagram in his hand, pondering how to cleverly break the deadlock. Seeing this, Wei Zhuang stopped talking and nodded to Chi Lian, who immediately understood.

“Even the strongest city walls have weaknesses. This hardwood is extremely tough, but since it is wood, it must be afraid of fire. Use oil carts to burn a passage for me.”

At Gongshu Chou's command, a small cart loaded with kerosene was pushed forward, lit, and rammed into a corner of the city wall. A loud explosion followed, and a corner of the hardwood wall was instantly destroyed.

The flames engulfed everything. Just then, a rain of arrows suddenly came from behind. Many soldiers and disciples of the Gongshu family were caught off guard and died instantly. The windmill was no longer being operated, and the suppressed white mist gathered again. Moreover, due to the disturbance of the external force, the white mist began to spread outward. In the blink of an eye, it had already engulfed the black-armored soldiers at the front. After the screams, there was no more movement.

"not good!"

Upon seeing this, Gongshu Chou's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly ordered a retreat. However, his order came too late. The black-armored soldiers who had finally escaped from the white mist lost their formation. Dozens of stone piles protruded from the dense forest ground, each topped with crossbow bolts. The sound of arrows whistling through the air filled the air as the black-armored soldiers became sitting ducks, falling one after another. After a while, the stone piles sank to the ground, but the white mist had already enveloped the entire dense forest.

"We've fallen for their trap!"

Encased in the mechanical snake, Gongshu Chou heard the screams coming from outside and his face darkened. After hearing no more sounds from outside, Gongshu Chou felt as if his heart was bleeding. He could bear to part with the black-armored soldiers, but the fact that his dozen or so disciples had also perished here was a tremendous loss.

"Lord Wei Zhuang seems to have noticed this all along."

Gongshu Chou looked at Wei Zhuang, whose face remained calm, and asked in a deep voice.

"I told you long ago that you can't completely trust these diagrams. It seems that Lord Gongshu didn't heed our warnings. Now look what's happened, the Black Armor Army has been wiped out. Lord Gongshu, have you figured out how to respond to His Majesty the Emperor?"

Chi Lian chuckled and looked at Gongshu Chou with a mocking expression. The latter was also furious upon hearing this, but he thought that this was all because of his own rashness. Although the emperor would be furious after he reported it, it would not be enough to kill him. However, in this way, the original trust would be completely destroyed, and in the end, the leadership would still be handed over to Liu Sha.

"The destruction of the Black Armor Army was to be expected. I will ask the higher-ups to send more troops to help. I admit my incompetence. The next battle of the siege will depend entirely on Lord Wei Zhuang and the experts of the Quicksand."

Gongshu Chou was also very decisive. Since he had failed, it meant that he was not as skilled as others. He would then focus on dealing with the traps and leave the rest to those who were capable. In any case, as long as the trap city was destroyed, he would have a share of the credit. Such a stain was nothing.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhuang said calmly, "Lord Gongshu is indeed straightforward. If it were anyone else, they would probably have to do what they just did."

After a pause, Wei Zhuang looked at the corroded mechanical snake, then nodded to Chi Lian. Upon seeing this, Chi Lian immediately touched her red lips, and a small, red and green triangular-headed venomous snake darted out from her shoulder, circled Chi Lian's arm once, flicked its tongue, and sniffed the air.

"Go."

Chi Lian placed her hand on the ground, and the small snake slithered quickly towards the grass. Gongshu Chou looked at the snake, puzzled, but soon after, he heard a rustling sound. Gongshu Chou was immediately filled with a chill, as if he were being watched by some ferocious beast.

"Let's go." Wei Zhuang grabbed Gongshu Chou and, before the mechanical snake was completely destroyed, flew out of the white mist and miasma with Gongshu Chou. In mid-air, Gongshu Chou felt the cold wind blowing past his ears and slowly opened his eyes, looking back at the place where they had been. He saw an astonishing scene: a giant snake was slithering around, followed by countless venomous snakes. The white mist and miasma seemed to be unable to do anything to them, and could only watch helplessly as the snakes climbed up the hardwood city wall. Under Gongshu Chou's incredulous gaze, the hardwood city wall shattered, but what was revealed in front of him was a smooth, mirror-like stone wall.

"Illusion Array!"

Gongshu Chou's expression changed drastically. He never expected that his advance, which had been so exhausting and resulted in so many casualties, would turn out to be an illusionary formation. Upon realizing this, Gongshu Chou felt a sharp pain in his chest.

"What a Mohist school! Gongshu Chou has lost."

Gongshu Chou knew that although he had underestimated his opponent, he had lost, and he would not be discouraged by this setback.

Wei Zhuang, carrying Gongshu Chou, arrived at a safe place. Not long after they landed, Chi Lian also arrived. Seeing that Wei Zhuang was unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at Gongshu Chou and snorted coldly, making the latter very embarrassed. Just then, Bai Feng, who had disappeared, silently landed on a treetop and casually tossed down a small bamboo tube. Chi Lian quickly grabbed it, opened it, and read the message inside.

"Lin'er has successfully infiltrated the Mo family, and it's time to put this Zhenyu Qianye to good use."

Chi Lian chuckled and took out a transparent jade bottle about the size of a little finger from her sleeve. Inside was a dark spot that looked very conspicuous.

"Duanmu Rong of the Mo family is the only successor of the medical school. Ordinary poisons cannot fool her. What is the mystery behind Lord Chi Lian's jade bottle?"

Gongshu Chou believed in Chi Lian's poison skills, but the Mo family was not to be trifled with either. If they discovered they had been poisoned and turned the tables on them, wouldn't they be at their mercy?

"The Poison Feather Thousand Nights is no ordinary poison. Its creation is complicated, requiring a thousand dark nights to complete. During this time, it cannot be exposed to any sunlight, otherwise all efforts will be wasted. Once completed, if the poison is kept in a jade bottle in the dark, it poses no threat. However, if it is poured out and exposed to sunlight, it will become a deadly poison. Within twelve hours, the poisoned person will become stiff. Although their mind will remain, their body will be completely weak. After twelve hours, if there is no antidote, they will fall into a coma forever until death."

"What a terrifying poison! No wonder it's the number one poison in the martial arts world. Lord Chi Lian is truly skilled. With this, the Mo Family's Mechanized City will be breached in no time. Gongshu Chou hereby congratulates Liu Sha."

Upon hearing Chi Lian's explanation, Gongshu Chou was immediately shocked, but at the same time, he was also very excited. This poison seemed to be specially prepared for the Mo family. The Mechanized City was difficult to break through from the outside, but once the internal fighting force was weakened, the entire Mechanized City became a toothless tiger, and the level of danger was greatly reduced. Even if those few commanders were lucky enough not to be poisoned, with the ability of Liu Sha, it would be a piece of cake to capture them.

Chi Lian tossed the jade bottle to Bai Feng, who reached out and caught it. She then summoned a small white bird, which carried the jade bottle and flew towards the Mechanized City.

"Zhenyu Qianye, hmm, she has some skill. However, the Mo family has already secretly activated the Xuanwu mechanism. If Zhenyu Qianye is released into the river, it will surely harm living beings."

On a high peak, Gu Xu's primordial spirit heard Chi Lian's words. After a moment's thought, his primordial spirit flashed and arrived high above the Mechanized City. He casually cast out several talismans, and with a flick of his sleeve, the talismans turned into light and fell into the waters around the Mechanized City. In an instant, they flashed with clear light and then disappeared.

Gu Xu used the "Refining Talisman" this time, which can absorb and refine the artificial poison in the river water and store it in the talisman. Once it is full, the talisman will turn to stone and automatically sink into the river water, so that it will not cause any harm to the creatures in the river.

"In a multi-party war, the third party always suffers. The destruction of the Mo family is a foregone conclusion. It's a pity that the Mechanized City, which has stood for hundreds of years, will eventually be reduced to ruins."

Gu Xu shook his head and sighed, then transformed into a beam of light and departed.

In a secluded corner of the Mechanized City, Mo Yu Qilin, disguised as a disciple of the Mo family, carefully put away the jade bottle and turned to walk towards the water room. It was dusk, the perfect time to administer the poison. However, the water room was also protected by Duanmu Rong, and eight skilled guards were stationed beside the pool. In Mo Yu Qilin's eyes, all he could see was a layer of phosphorescent powder that was difficult to see with the naked eye. If he walked directly over it, he would inevitably get the powder on his body.

However, this was no challenge for Mo Yu Qilin. He simply walked up, and the phosphorescent powder instantly covered his body. At this moment, some Mo family disciples who were fetching water saw him coming and greeted him. Mo Yu Qilin nodded in response, put the wooden bucket into the pool, and secretly uncorked the "Poison Feather Thousand Nights" from his sleeve and sank it into the pool.

After finishing this task, Mo Yu Qilin left with the other people who were fetching water. From beginning to end, the guards did not notice anything amiss until noon the next day, when most of the people in the entire Mechanized City had been knocked down by Zhen Yu Qianye.

Upon hearing this, Gao Jianli and the others immediately summoned Duanmu Rong. After examining the poisoned disciples, Duanmu Rong's heart sank. Meeting the gazes of Gao Jianli and the others, Duanmu Rong took out several pills and distributed them to everyone, saying in a deep voice, "This is Zhenyu Qianye. It must have been spread by Chilian through the pool. Moyu Qilin is omnipresent. Despite our best efforts, we still made a mistake."

"Miss Rong, is it possible to cure the Poison Feather Thousand Nights Curse?"

Master Ban was extremely anxious. In less than half a day, a third of the thousand disciples of the Mechanized City had fallen. If this continued, the entire Mechanized City would be completely rendered powerless in less than a day, and would be doomed if an enemy invaded.

"I need to get to the pool first. The creation of this Poison Feather Thousand Nights is very complicated. If you don't know what the raw materials are, you won't know where to start. I just hope you can all hold on for twelve hours."

Although Duanmu Rong was confident that she could detoxify within twelve hours, given the current situation, it was uncertain whether the Mechanized City could hold out for twelve hours.

"The Xuanwu mechanism was activated a few days ago, so it's not a problem for the time being. We can buy twelve hours with the city's mechanisms. Miss Rong, there's no time to lose. Go and develop the antidote. Xiao Gao, have the disciples who haven't been poisoned be on high alert. Abandon the outer perimeter to save energy and lure them into the city."

Master Ban gave an order to Gao Jianli and the others, and they all set to work.

(End of this chapter)